The delays by some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and telecommunications companies (Telcos) to connect internet traffic to the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) is undermining the country’s prospects of lowering the cost of internet and increasing broadband penetration, according to a report by Business Day.

An IXP is a physical infrastructure through which ISPs and telcos exchange domestic internet traffic locally without having to send information across multiple international hoops to reach their destination. Nigeria established the exchange point at a cost of N35-million.

The IXPN reduces capital flight as transit charges paid to upstream (foreign) ISPs could be redirected towards provision of better local infrastructure and services to customers.

‘If more operators connect their traffic to the IXPN, internet users will pay less for access and this will enable more individuals to sign up. The internet infrastructure will also enhance local connectivity and improve the internet experience of end users. Also, businesses will use the internet to offer more services to their customers,' says IXPN managing director Muhammed Rudman.

But some Telcos say the security of the exchange is their major concern, and fear a breach could compromise subscriber information and revenue, according to the report by Business Day.

Currently, about 30% of the over 70 functional ISPs in the country are connected to the exchange. Some of the telcos that have connected their internet traffic to the IXPN include MTN Nigeria.

‘Until we move all our traffic from satellite to terrestrial, it would be difficult to aggregate all the traffic to the IXPN. With Main One, Glo-1, WACS and ACE cables coming into the country and the existing national optic fibre backbone, I hope we would be able to achieve this in no distant time,’ says Lanre Ajayi, president of the Nigerian Internet Group. 

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had directed all ISPs and telcos to connect to the exchange before July 31, 2009 or face stiff sanctions. More than 10 months after the expiration of the directive, they are yet to route their traffic through the IXPN.

Source: Business Day